Bass wrote the story (in his fine book, Seven Summits, co-authored with Frank Wells (not my candidate), and Rick Ridgeway (the ghostwriter and climbing partner, I believe - not my candidate). His account of the Everest climb with Breashears was humorous because Breashears kept giving him advice about things to not do. He told him to be careful during a hike to not turn an ankle or get blisters, Bass developed terrible blisters! He told him to not go anywhere during a climbing delay. Bass went hiking and nearly slid off the mountain, scraping and bruising his side very badly. He told him to not climb under some fixed ropes so he would not get hung up in them, Bass climbed under the ropes and did get hung up. Finally, on a corniced ridge, he told him to not slip, and Bass thought: “Don’t tell me that. You’ll be hexing me again.” (From p. 317, Seven Summits)
Why am I writing about that?
The last several months have seen the proliferation of ‘candidate diaries’ on the Daily Kos. The only diaries which have proliferated nearly as much are diaries complaining about candidate diaries. Though most Top Comments diarists have settled on a favorite, by and large TC diaries themselves have remained free of the toxicity of candidate diaries. That is not because TC diarists are not partisan. To a person we are PASSIONATELY partisan. TC diarists are some of the most passionate progressives I have ever met. Still, that passion on behalf of our candidates of choice has been spared the TC community. Until tonight.
So I am going to introduce my candidate. I have nothing bad to say about your candidate, or candidates, I should say, as I hope you have more favored candidates than merely a presidential candidate! I hope you have candidates for US Congress, possibly one or more gubernatorial candidates, candidates for state office, local government. All of those contests are important.
My candidate was born in Porbandar, India. (I am going to speak of him in the past tense as a literary convention, which I will explain shortly.) I am not going to write extensively of his life, as that really isn’t the point of the diary. However, the Wikipedia article about him, which I will link to later, says this of his early life:
(He) learned from an early age the tenets of non-injury to living beings, vegetarianism, fasting for self-purification, and mutual tolerance between members of various creeds and sects.
Non-injury of living beings, mutual tolerance ... fine progressive themes in my book!
In terms of experience, though he studied and trained as a lawyer, he did not pursue political office. He accumulated no background as elected official, he solicited no endorsements, he was never on Meet the Press, he never met Tim Russert. Though a lifelong advocate for peace, he never won a Nobel Peace Prize (though nominated five times).
The literary convention I used above, of speaking of my candidate in the past tense, is called accuracy, since my candidate is deceased, in most ways.
My candidate’s name is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, (my candidate) and he died sixty years ago yesterday, in New Delhi, India, victim to an assassin’s bullet.
What the hell, BeninSC?! How is a man who died sixty years ago supposed to be your candidate? And how does this relate to Dick Bass climbing Mt. Everest? Where in the world are you going with this?!
Many of the complaint diaries and comments pertaining to candidate diaries bemoan the divisive and vitriolic energy in those diaries. It can sap those who read them, it can drive some fine progressives away from the site. Much of the advice in the complaints seems to me to take the form of don’t do this, don’t do that. To me that resembles the advice David Breashears gave Dick Bass, hexing him. I didn’t want to write a diary full of hexes.
So, instead, I chose a man I wish to offer, not as a candidate for political office, but rather as a candidate for role model. The myth has grown in our society that military power is tantamount to strength, that violence is stronger than non-violence, that hostility is stronger than a more benevolent way of being. In my opinion, my champion is one of the strongest human beings to ever live. It takes ENORMOUS strength to not resort to violence, of thought and/or deed, when you are being hit. It is far stronger to resist that urge than it is to hit back.
It takes enormous strength to resist frustration and disappointment. Certainly nerves are frayed in our country after 7 years of viciously conservative administration. Often people of good intent fight the good fight until they become exhausted by that frustration and accumulating anger, then they reach a ‘breaking point’ and unleash hostile, violently intended energy, even when a physical expression of that violence may be precluded. Gandhi lived under British rule for almost his entire life, without ever reaching that breaking point that could have led him away from his nonviolent principles.
When you read a comment that is particularly provocative or offensive, think about that for a moment. He lived a life under deeply frustrating foreign rule, without ever losing his focus or compromising his principles.
I offer one more thought about diaries and comments and real-life encounters which you find provocative. Gandhi had to know the frustrations we often feel. Many of his friends were killed or died in the quest freedom and truth he pursued. What Gandhi did not do was take the toxic energy of others into himself. Instead, he PROJECTED peaceful energy unto others. He was pro-active, not reactive, in how he dealt with trollish energy. There are infinite opportunities to fight injustice and unequitable conditions. Gandhi maintained his focus because he had a keen sense of where and how to apply his energies, of what was important. Life is too short to dwell in the toxic sewage, and that is the clearest path to a breaking point. At the same time, the world has never known a more passionate advocate for truth and justice than Gandhi. When he became frustrated and angry, he focused his constructive energy ever more intensely. And he won. It took several decades, but he won independence for his country. And he won countless victories for nonviolence, victories which, within many of us, continue to accumulate to this day. His strength lives within us, or can, at any rate, if we have the strength and wisdom and inclination to answer the call. And if we can husband our energies with that inner strength.
Gandhi would NOT be stopped. He would never quit, he would never give up. It is a lesson about indomitable will.
Think, too, for a final moment, about people generally considered politically ‘powerful’ in our world. I am not talking about Meteor Blades and Hunter and kos, though those are already far beyond me. Think of others who diary here. Keith Olbermann, Edward Kennedy, John Edwards, John Kerry, Jimmy Carter ... Who of those would you say has or had more influence than my candidate? And he held no political office, never had weapons of violence (offensive or defensive), had no official rank or status, he didn’t even have any personal possessions. For me, the thought lends perspective, perhaps it may for you, too.
The best thing, for me, in this diary, is that you can support my candidate without sacrificing any passion or resources for all of your own candidates! :) Isn’t that a great thing?
So, no don’t don’t don’ts from me. :) Do! Be yourself. Uphold your personal and political principles. Project peaceful, passionate energy of indomitable resolve and focus. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. ;)
Thank you for considering my candidate, Mahatma Gandhi.
Now on to comments! :)
From GreyHawk:
Horsehead redefines the term 'grab-ass' using a description from one of my comments in Georgia10's FP piece "Iraq."
From llbear:
Superskepticalman submits this fine comment in today's IGTNT: He is not here, but far away
From madgranny:
Poor mcmom isn't feeling well, but she feels better by the end of the thread, from the FP diary Public Lands Tag Sale by mcjoan.
From emeraldmaiden
lgmcp wonders who liberals really are in The Truffle's diary, Michael Medved calls Rush Limbaugh a liberal. OUCH!
From lineatus (And special thanks to Cali Scribe for also submitting this one!):
clammyc shares a recipe ... and it's a keeper:
From sardonyx:
In last night's Republican debate threads, Dave the Rave posts a cartoon on the candidates' worship of all things Reagan.
DakotaDem channels Borat on Hillary Clinton.
ccr4nine responds thoughtfully to a question about whether to use "black" or "African-American."
In poblano's amazing Super Tuesday Preview, 1/31/08 (if you haven't seen it, what the hell are you waiting for?), two roads comes up with an alternate post-Super-Tuesday scenario to the ones postulated by poblano.
Given the quality of debate "moderation", I think we can all get behind GOTV's plea.
My apologies, due to scheduling anomalies, I was not able to do any mining of my own tonight. I did get Top Mojo, though. Thanks to everyone who submitted comments! Please submit more of your own, below! And remember to email submissions to topcomments a t g m ail.com (Remove extraneous spaces, please)! We will include them if at all possible!
Top Mojo - excluding search-identifiable tip jars and first diary comments (top 30 of each plus ties):
1 I hope you are not disappointed! by teacherken - 327
2 Throw me something! by Kingsmeg - 253
3 Wow by cycloptichorn - 213
4 Yeah, I know. I'm surprised by Brandon Friedman - 163
5 She voted 'present' on Union busting. by Geekesque - 126
6 Took way too long ;-) by poblano - 118
7 Oh, come on, as a director, HRC's job was to help by Inland - 104
8 Man, poblano by casperr - 104
9 Let me make it simple by poblano - 103
10 Well by cycloptichorn - 99
11 OK, then Montel by Aug6PDB - 93
12 Make Benefit Glorious Campaign of Premier Clinton by Dakota Dem - 92
13 Priceless Simplification by Steven R - 87
14 No way, dude!!! by tampa traveler - 86
15 It was great to hear Montel... by KingOneEye - 77
16 This isn't Drudge... by DemocraticOz - 76
17 Only way to break a bad streak by Nick Blas - 75
18 Still, this is BURNING BRIDGES big time. by vets74 - 75
19 Accept by RDemocrat - 74
20 Exactly by nisleib - 68
21 Rosie O'Donnell and Phil Donahue and by dkmich - 68
22 he's going to be in LA by slinkerwink - 67
23 I'm glad you posted this, Brandon ... by Meteor Blades - 66
24 Better Headline by Steven R - 66
25 T'ursday in Ohio0 by Ninepatch - 65
26 I welcome your support. by Adam B - 65
27 i said this in another diary by labwitchy - 63
28 Watching their awkward humiliation? by Brandon Friedman - 61
29 But. It wasn't even an 'outburst' was it? by 417els - 61
30 put your clothes on inside out by mightymouse - 60
31 Seems like... by PsiFighter37 - 60
32 I'd better be - by teacherken - 60
Top Mojo - everything included:
1 Tip jar by Brandon Friedman - 1060
2 tip jar by poblano - 679
3 GO DEMCRATS! by Nature Guy - 339
4 I hope you are not disappointed! by teacherken - 327
5 Tip Jar by XStryker - 270
6 Throw me something! by Kingsmeg - 253
7 Tip Jar n/t by redglare - 251
8 Tips for reclaiming by TomP - 229
9 Wow by cycloptichorn - 213
10 embrace the Gravelanche by kubla000 - 206
11 Tips/Thoughts/Sarrows? by GB1437a - 201
12 Yeah, I know. I'm surprised by Brandon Friedman - 163
13 Tips... by DemDog - 160
14 tips, recs....thank you by maxnyc - 150
15 She voted 'present' on Union busting. by Geekesque - 126
16 Tips for giving by Ellinorianne - 121
17 Took way too long ;-) by poblano - 118
18 I agree with you. I hope others join us. by Ex Clinton Democrat - 107
19 Man, poblano by casperr - 104
20 Oh, come on, as a director, HRC's job was to help by Inland - 104
21 Let me make it simple by poblano - 103
22 Well by cycloptichorn - 99
23 OK, then Montel by Aug6PDB - 93
24 Make Benefit Glorious Campaign of Premier Clinton by Dakota Dem - 92
25 Priceless Simplification by Steven R - 87
26 No way, dude!!! by tampa traveler - 86
27 On campus... by PsiFighter37 - 85
28 Wow that is increadible by GB1437a - 80
29 Thanks. n/t by Rob Cole - 78
30 Tips and Recs for change!!! by icebergslim - 77
31 It was great to hear Montel... by KingOneEye - 77
Thank you for visiting my candidate diary, everyone. :) Pleasant evening to you all!
